5 Best AI Code Generators
Artificial intelligence technologies are constantly being improved, which allows them to be effectively used to solve even the most complex problems. One of them is programming. On the Internet, you can find many services called AI code generators for automatically writing and editing code. Each of them has its own features and benefits, and many have free versions available. In this article, we will tell you what these developer platforms are and what features they have, as well as give you an overview of the five most popular programs and their features.
What are AI Code Generators
AI code generation tools are assistant programs that use artificial intelligence technologies to help developers write code faster and better. Thus, they can improve two important aspects of the work of programmers: productivity and code cleanliness.
Today, two types of generators are most in demand:
- Generating code on their own based on user prompts.
- Using the code completion method as the developer writes it.
In addition, some services cannot generate code on their own. They are designed to check it and fix bugs (code review). There are also universal generators that can both generate code automatically and check already-written lines.
Modern AI platforms for code generation are a very useful tool for both beginners and experienced programmers. For example, it is enough for users to write a brief description of the code they need and submit it in the service dialog box to receive a ready-made code snippet that meets the specified requirements. After that, they will only have to edit it and add it to their project. Smart algorithms are also capable of translating code from one programming language to another, as in automatic translation between languages of different countries in the world. Finally, the developers can ask the AI to simply check the code they write and clean it up for bugs.
Among the main advantages of such platforms are the following:
- Code automation with AI allows you to create more quality code in less time. By entrusting routine processes to artificial intelligence algorithms, developers can focus on more complex tasks that require high professionalism and creativity.
- The AI algorithms used in these services are trained to work with code from different sources. This allows them to generate versatile, highly functional code that is accurate, easy to maintain, and compatible with today's industry standards.
- Platforms of this type can scrupulously check the finished code and find bugs in it. Thanks to this, programmers will save themselves from routine work not only when writing code but also when debugging it.
- AI generators simplify the programming process, making it accessible not only for professionals but for everyone interested in this area. They also significantly increase the productivity and quality of the result for novice developers.
- Most of these services support seamless integration with various development environments (IDEs): Visual Studio Code, JetBrains IDE, RubyMine, or Xcode. They can also be integrated with other external systems that software developers often use.
Now we present to your attention an overview of the five most popular code generator services with AI support.
GitHub Copilot
GitHub Copilot rightfully belongs to the best AI code generators and is considered one of the most popular coding assistants on the market. This joint development between GitHub and OpenAI is based on the OpenAI Codex language model trained on large amounts of text and code. The service's algorithms work as a programmer's virtual assistant, allowing it to quickly write clean and high-quality code. They not only process text queries but also use auto-completion, offering the developer ready-made lines or entire blocks of code. Learning from public code repositories has given Copilot the ability to recognize many coding languages and styles.
Key features:
- The platform not only helps to write and add code; it can also be used for explaining, debugging code, and other operations. It can comment on code, find vulnerabilities, and perform debugging.
- The AI algorithms at the heart of this service learn quickly and adapt to different programming styles.
- The system supports the most popular development environments – 15 IDEs in total. There are extensions for Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, Neovim, and JetBrains.
- Users are offered two versions of this service: GitHub Copilot for Individuals (for personal use) and GitHub Copilot for Business (for commercial use). Students, educators, and contributors to well-known open-source projects can use it for free. Everyone else has a free 30-day trial period.
- The AI assistant is compatible with a number of common programming languages, including Python, JavaScript, Go, C++, and TypeScript.
To use the AI coding tool, just install the extension for Visual Studio Code and register with a GitHub account. Paid subscriptions for GitHub Copilot for Individuals are $10 per month, and GitHub Copilot for Business are $19 per month.
Tabnine
The open-source Tabnine service developed by Codota is one of the most worthy examples of free AI Python code generators. It is used by employees of a number of well-known IT giants, including Google and Facebook. Its machine learning (ML) algorithms enable it to efficiently recognize user queries by suggesting appropriate line endings and longer code snippets. Thanks to it, developers can generate code much faster and with higher-quality results.
Key features:
- Tabnine has features for automatic code completion, automatic test generation, syntax highlighting, and a number of other useful tools.
- The service supports over 20 programming languages, including JavaScript, Python, TypeScript, Rust, Go, and Bash. This makes it truly versatile and convenient for professionals with different skills.
- The platform easily integrates with popular code editors, including VS Code, Sublime Text, and Atom. Programmers can easily adapt it to the development environment they use.
- AI tools for developers provide support for code refactoring, improving its cleanliness, readability, and maintainability.
- The auto-documentation feature makes code clearer and more collaborative.
- Tabnine uses deep learning algorithms. This allows it to create more accurate and relevant code suggestions, making coding easier and faster.
- During operation, the service uses huge amounts of RAM. This makes it difficult to use on weak computers.
A basic, free Starter plan is available for individual users. A paid Pro plan with advanced features is offered for $12 per month. The Enterprise Plan is priced upon request.
Replit GhostWriter
A well-deserved place in the selection of the best code generators is occupied by the GhostWriter AI platform from Replit. Its functionality includes four main areas: code completion, code generation from scratch, code transformation, and explanation. The service provides users with an interactive space for programming, collaboration, and learning.
Key features:
- Seamless integration with Replit's online code editor allows developers to write, run, and debug code through a single interface.
- The real-time code completion feature significantly accelerates the programming process and minimizes the number of errors.
- Advanced built-in hints make the coding process more convenient and efficient for both beginners and experienced professionals.
- The artificial intelligence in programming technologies used by the platform automatically finds errors in the code and offers the best options for correcting them.
- The built-in chatbot in Replit GhostWriter helps you brainstorm when working on creative tasks, translates natural language into program code, and generates explanations and comments on the code.
- The semantic analysis feature allows users to quickly find and import open-source code from third-party sources.
- The AI service supports 16 popular programming languages, including JavaScript, Python, Bash, C, C#, C++, CSS, Go, Java, HTML, PHP, Perl, R, Ruby, Rust, and SQL.
- The average response time to a user request from a chatbot on this platform is 500 ms.
- Replit GhostWriter supports entering requests not only by text but also by voice.
The basic version of the platform with limited functionality is available for free (the Free plan). The paid Hacker plan costs $7 per month. The Pro package with maximum features will cost $20 per month.
OpenAI Codex
Codex is one of the well-known AI coding services developed by OpenAI. The one that created the neural network for natural language processing, GPT, and based on it, a smart chatbot with AI support, ChatGPT. The platform is based on large arrays of information from the GPT-3 and GPT-4 neural networks. In addition, it applies deep learning methods to language models. Loading the service with large volumes of narrowly focused data allows you to effectively prepare artificial intelligence to perform various programming tasks.
Key features:
- OpenAI Codex can be used to automatically generate code in 12 different programming languages, including Go, TypeScript, Perl, PHP, BASH, Ruby, JavaScript, and Swift. There is an opinion that this platform is best suited for the Python language.
- The system's algorithms accurately recognize and process natural language queries. It is enough for the users to send a request to the chatbot with a description of the action they need to take to receive the corresponding proposals in the format of the program code.
- In addition to the automated code generation function, Codex contains a tool for auto-completing user-entered code. AI algorithms quickly pick up strings and larger chunks to help complete a piece of code and make it workable.
- The platform can be used for auto-generation and code completion for machine learning models, web applications, or mobile applications.
- Other useful OpenAI Codex tools include debugging, code commenting, and notifications.
OpenAI Codex is an open-source platform with free access for all users. However, a fee is charged for connecting the integration through the OpenAI Codex API, which is calculated based on the number of tokens used.
Codiga
The Codiga service completes our selection of the best AI tools for developers and stands out from all other virtual assistant developers. The fact is that this platform is intended more for code revision than for generation. Artificial intelligence algorithms carefully analyze the code written by the programmer for its purity, performance, and security. They then generate a detailed report that describes the vulnerabilities found and provides context-based remediation recommendations. Codiga will be especially useful for projects that pay special attention to the quality and security of the code.
Key features:
- The service supports over 15 popular programming languages, including Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Ruby, YML, Kotlin, and Java.
- The platform's AI algorithms use over 2,000 rules to analyze code. As a result, the user receives detailed information about all important indicators of code quality, including information about errors found, duplicates of long and complex functions, and so on.
- Developers can write and distribute code through the system's interface.
- Codiga is compatible with a variety of development environments (IDEs), including VS Code, JetBrains, VisualStudio, GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket.
- The service can automatically generate code snippets for common tasks. This improves the speed and productivity of programming.
- The auto-fixing feature helps not only to find errors and vulnerabilities in the code, but also to fix them without the participation of a programmer directly in the IDE interface.
- AI algorithms create individual rules for each specific code in literally five minutes. They can then be distributed to all team members.
The free Basic plan includes tools for analysis and automated code revision, as well as access to technical support. The Teams paid plan for $14 per month offers all the features of the Basic plan plus dedicated code analysis pipelines, dedicated support access (including via email), and public and private repositories.
Conclusion
AI tools for code generation are becoming more powerful, versatile, and, accordingly, in demand every year. They relieve programmers of tedious routines, significantly improving the quality and purity of the code they create. All the services described in our article have successfully established themselves as convenient and functional AI assistants with wide capabilities. Most of them support dozens of popular programming languages and various IDEs. Also, all of them provide free access to their basic functions, and the cost of their paid packages does not exceed $10–20 per month.
Apix-Drive will help optimize business processes, save you from a lot of routine tasks and unnecessary costs for automation, attracting additional specialists. Try setting up a free test connection with ApiX-Drive and see for yourself. Now you have to think about where to invest the freed time and money!